A Big Promise: Alana Semuels on Tennessee’s ambitious tuition program

Free tuition inTennessee, that’s genuinely wonderful. And we don’t mean to be ungrateful or greedy, but is it enough? How do the bills get paid in the meantime? And what about academic preparation? Alana Semuels, staff writer for the Atlantic, explores these questions in her October 2015 report on the Tennessee Promise.

Read it here: Semuels, “Free tuition is not enough”

 

1. Semuels stops short of making explicit recommendations for improving graduation rates, but she does discuss various options. What are they? Which do you think is the most practical? Why?
2. Semuels’ report presents cause for optimism that the Tennessee Promise will improve the earning potential of impoverished Tennessee students, but the picture is far from rosy. Semuels provides figures and statistics along with focused descriptions of individual students. In your opinion, which of these two types of evidence is stronger? Why? Would the article have been stronger if Semuels had focused on only one of these evidence types? Why or why not?
3. Read (or re-read) Charles Murray’s essay in Chapter 16 of your text. How would Murray likely respond to the Tennessee Promise? Why do you think so? Point to specific passages of his essay to support your conclusions.
4. It’s very likely that you are a first year student in a four-year or community college. Compare your experience with that of the students described by Semuels. What similarities and differences do you find between your circumstances and those of the Tennessee Promise participants? Would attentive mentoring be useful to you? Why or why not? Would a textbook scholarship allow you more time for studying? Using Semuels as your They Say, write an essay proposing realistic measures that could support your academic success.

Comments

[John]

I feel like the first free year of college is unfair to the rest of the students who had to pay their first year and the rest. They would only pay three years of college when the past students paid for all four or how ever many years they attend. And when your giving something free, most people don't take advantage of it. students who pay for college is a lesson not to fall behind in school.

[Danaee]

I don't feel the 'Tennessee Promise' is soomething that is neccessarily bad. I actually find it interesting that this is something that they do. I will say that free tuition should be to those who deserve. College is a big thing and I do find it sort of "ungrateful" that some are just willing to give up. There are many that wish college was free for them. I do not find this particular promise to be unfair though. I don't feel that one should look at this situation like this because life is not about being fair. I see that as being selfish and childish in a way. We can not live in the mindstate of being mad or upset because one is more fortunate than the other. You never know what the next person is going through.

[Lisa]

You can't compare High School and College together because it don't equal out the same.High School is a beginning to get you ready for life it self and College on the other hand is getting you there for example the work force , better paying jobs etc.Today students are getting in to debt and when they get out of college they have all those debts from loans or school itself.This makes the student a little scared and thats why alot of students go to jobs straight out of High school and dont think about a higher education.This is lot to think about being a student going to school and taking on a job and maintaining a good GPA.

[Julie Thomas]

The Promise is a good program but it is my opinion that should be better administrated by the Colleges. We can not close our eyes or to look to the other side when there are a lot of students who want to succeed but physical situations like working for a living take them down and impede them to reach their goals. The free tuition should be given to those students who have participated and won an academic context and don't have the economical situation to pursue an academic degree. The Promise should contents aid for housing, feeding and all that expenses that pursuing a career involves so the students will expend all his or her time studying.

[Ja'Lynn Crook]

Based upon the reading, i would agree that the Tennesse Promise is a wonderful idea. Although the program does not really do much, i do believe that this program has lifted another student issue off of their shoulders. I had noticed that Semeuls had mentioned that many of the incoming students should have advisors and mentors to guide them til the completion of their school years. I agree from a students perspective that it would most definitely make a big change in graduation rates. Many of us need a little guidance throughout the semesters, it would keep us focused and we have someone to run to when certain issues and questions come about. another thing that i would say is I feel that we seem to focus more on the incoming students that many forget about the students that are struggling with balancing their school work with their day to day problems. I believe that though we do use these students for research and observation, we should also start our changes with them and record the progress or decline as we go. So, i wouls say no tuition is not enough because it still leaves many of our students in so much debt, but i do feel that if free tuition is all that we can get then some help is better than no help at all.

[Roland]

I found Alana Semuels' article intriguing. I had no idea Tennessee had this program. I agree with her that free tuition is not enough. If it would help at all, I think that in addition to free tuition, help should also be provided to pay bills and other sundries. In my own experience, it has been extremely difficult to balance school and work, the commute, paying my bills while earning barely enough to pay for bus passes, etc., and financial aid doesn't do a very good job of covering everything that needs to be covered.

[awoods01111]

I feel that tuition is not enough.Any student entering into college should recieve some other financial support to help them throughout their experience in college.Throughout the studying,bills pile up and resources becomes slim.No student should have to be faced with the ongoing worries outside the college classroom.All focus should be on studies and not finances.These people who even think that tuition is enough is crazy.School takes up a certain amount of time,then studying, so short is time for work.

[Kamron McCarthy]

In Alana Semuels essay "A Big Promise" she speaks about the financial issues of low-income students. I believe that the concept of the Tennessee promise would be very beneficial to college students every where. I believe this because I am currently dealing with the same thing as the students she mentions. In order for me to afford my tuition, books, and housing out of pocket, I have been working 40 hours a week at my bussing job. To have a program in which they not only support full time students with tuition rates, but as well as their living costs would contribute to the students drastically. Allowing as little as more sleep would drastically improve the quality of education as well as reducing their personal stress.

[Gradi T]

When it comes to the topic of A Big Promise by Alana Semuels, most of us will readily agree that the author’s talking about low income families that are having problems financially and how something like the first year free tuition is good for them, but not good enough. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of is the program actually beneficial to the students in Tennessee? Whereas some are convinced that students with family members that never attended college before are the ones that are really taking advantage of this opportunity, because their tuition is being paid for, others maintain that this is very astonishing in many different ways. My own view is that I agree with Alana’s point that students are really taking advantages of this program, but at the same time I feel like she was a little needy when she said the money their offering them isn’t enough. I had no idea about Tennessee having this whole program. I believe that this program should be applied to every single states, because then the numbers of students that attends college will rise drastically in certain ways. Some people may find this unfair, but I can disagree on that because everyone is different especially when it comes to financial.

[Alexis Tuohey]

I believe the topic of this article has a valid idea and could work. Making 2 years tuition free can really help those who need it, considering most middle class teenagers and young adults work to help support themselves as noted in the article. It would definitely also increase enrollment in higher education, and most students would probably consider continuing for four years total after completing two. Though it is a genuine idea, I believe more work needs to be put into it to ensure it goes through well considering there is a lot of money being put into the process. Administrators need to make sure students counselors and advisors are available to them and that majority of students who take the opportunity continue after the two free years are over.

[Eliza W.]

I agree with Semuels that the Tennessee Promise is a great program to help students who may not be able to pay for college tuition. On the other hand, I disagree with Roland that the Tennessee Promise should give more money out on top of paying the students tuition. I believe that it would be great if the Tennessee Promise could help these students even more by paying for their rent, textbooks, etc, but I know this is highly implausible to execute because of how expensive it would cost. Semuels states that “There are still other big expenses that the Promise and other programs don’t cover, and those expenses can make quitting and finding full-time work an appealing proposition.” While this is true statement, I don’t believe that this should be the reason why the Tennessee Promise should have to pay even more to get students to stay in school. In fact, I believe that many colleges face this problem whether they are offering free tuition or not. I firmly believe that if a student wants to pursue a college education, they will find a way to complete their credits such as applying for scholarships. Also, I believe that the fact that their tuition is being paid for should drive their desire even more to learn and succeed.

[donald groot]

I feel a system like this dose to much. In my option a system like this puts those who are not ready for college. A system like this starts to make college the new high school if a system like this becomes standard if you do not go to college it is almost impossible if you do not go to college to be successful in a traditional manor.